Penguin Racers
The title of this article is official, but it comes from development data such as an internal filename. If an acceptable public source is found, then the article should be moved to its appropriate title.
- Not to be confused with Big Penguin, the racing penguin in Super Mario 64.
| Penguin Racers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy (2007) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020) | ||
| Leader | Red penguin (Coach) | ||
| |||
- “If you want to get in on one of those penguin races, go talk to Coach!”
- —Yellow Toad, Super Mario Galaxy
The Penguin Racers are members of a competitive swim team in Super Mario Galaxy. There are five Penguin Rivers, only one of which is blue like the other small penguins in the game. They live in the Sea Slide Galaxy. Each Penguin Racer wears a swim cap and goggles that rest above their eyes. The leader, referred to as "Coach" by Yellow Toad, is a red penguin with yellow, feathery brows, making him look like a rockhopper penguin. This character is not to be confused with the big penguin of the same name also found in Super Mario Galaxy. Unlike him, this red penguin is referred to as リーダー (rīdā, "leader") in the original Japanese release.
During the mission "Going after Guppy", the eponymous whale monopolizes the waters of the Sea Slide Galaxy, preventing the Penguin Racers from swimming. In the subsequent "Faster Than a Speeding Penguin", Mario (or Luigi) races these penguins. The fastest penguin is the red Coach, followed by the green penguin, the purple penguin, and the blue penguin. Mario must hold onto a Red Shell and utilize underwater rings to beat them. Upon being outswam, Coach affectionately refers to Mario as "champ" and awards him a Power Star. The Penguin Racers subsequently appear in "The Silver Stars of Sea Slide", helping Mario look for Silver Stars. Coach reappears in the Grand Finale Galaxy during "The Star Festival", near the lake with Penguru and other penguins. Outside of the mission that actively involves a race, there is a second red penguin that can be found in Sea Slide Galaxy that lacks the yellow brows.
The Penguin Racers are the first of conceptually similar teams that appear in subsequent Super Mario games. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, a group of multicolored Jibberjays periodically challenge Mario to a race. In Super Mario Odyssey, the Roving Racers and Shiverian Racers serve a similar role.
The internal file name for the Penguin Racers is shared with the Big Penguin from Super Mario 64 DS.
Gallery
Coach
Green Penguin Racer
Purple Penguin Racer
Blue Penguin Racer
Red Penguin Racer
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Internal names
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy | StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl | PenguinRacer | Penguin Racer |
| Super Mario Galaxy | StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl | ペンギンレーサー (Pengin Rēsā) | Penguin Racer |
| Super Mario Galaxy | StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl | PenguinRacerLeader | Penguin Racer Leader (Coach) |
| Super Mario Galaxy | StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl | ペンギンレーサーリーダー (Pengin Rēsā Rīdā) | Penguin Racer Leader (Coach) |
